Selfless Action
by gunman
Summary: Shinji returns to fight against the Angels and battles them with a fierceness that he didn't have before. Chapter 4 up now. OOC in story.
1. Chapter 1

_**SELFLESS ACTION**_

by Gunman

Disclaimer: I own nothing because PenPen won't let me.

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It had been 4 days since the battle with the Fourth Angel and Shinji had been in the holding cell for little more than 3.

Sitting alone amidst the darkness of his holding cell deep within the bowels of NERV, Shinji could not help but wonder if he was going to spend the rest of his life there. From what he knew he had been placed in this dark hole because he had defied Misato's orders. It was to be expected. He was a soldier and soldiers who don't follow orders tend to get disciplined from insubordination.

Suddenly, the door to his cell opened up, letting a flood of lights blind him. Squinting as his eyes adjusted to the brightness, he was not at all surprised to see the familiar figure of his guardian standing in the doorway. And she didn't look happy.

"Captain Katsuragi." he says with all the formality of someone who is addressing and superior officer.

"You've had four days to think about what you've done. Have you reached a conclusion?" Misato asked, hoping that this conversation would help her, at least, reach a decision.

"I... I think so." Shinji replied, not sounding very sure of himself.

"And…" Misato began, letting the word fill the cell and wash over the boy.

"And… will I pilot the Eva?" Shinji replied, answering her question as she knew he would.

"Well, will you?" she asked, deciding – no – knowing that his answer will be the conclusion she has sought since he came to Tokyo-3.

He didn't want to pilot, she knew that, and given the choice he would leave. Two battles and he had already suffered more than anyone had a right to. He was young, inexperienced, poorly trained, this entire situation just thrown on him out of the blue.

"And, is it because you want to be an Eva pilot or not?" she asked, studying his reactions as he hesitated for a moment. It was only a moment but it was enough for her to get her answer. Misato has reached her conclusion and she knew that it was for the best. The hesitation in his eyes as he sought for an answer.

"Honestly, no. I'd rather not pilot. But... it's not fair to Rei or the others..." he started to say, but was overrode.

"Oh, cut the crap!" Misato shouted, shocking him into silence.

"What?" he asked, seeing the anger in her eyes, but not knowing why.

"Drop the whole noble warrior routine! Putting other people before yourself is admirable, but for someone who acts so all together, you're very insecure. And someone like that is just going to bring all of us down. Maybe even getting us all killed." Misato said without thinking, her emotions getting the better of her as she told him her thoughts.

"But, what about Rei, and NERV…" Shinji stated, not fully believing what he's hearing.

"We'll get by Shinji. We'll just rewrite Unit 01 for Rei." She said bluntly, as if reading from a script of sorts. To be honest Misato can't believe this is coming from her own lips.

"But, you can't just... how..." Shinji starts to say, not noticing the crushed look in her eyes.

"I'm sorry for asking so much of you... It was simply too much of a burden to put on you. Go back to your teachers and forget about Eva, forget about us, and just... go back to your old life." she said, not really believing that she was saying it.

Shinji stared at her blankly, not believing what he was hearing. It was like being told, 'just go, don't look back, forget what you've seen, forget your responsibility, and think about what's best for you.'

Misato turned away and started to close the door.

"Misato…?" he yells, jumping to his feet and giving chase as she steps out of the room.

"You'll be released tomorrow and put on a train back to New Osaka. Goodbye, Shinji…" Misato said before she looked away to avoid the before looking away, trying to avoid the hurt in his eyes.

"Wait!" he yells, reaching the door as it closes, separating him from his now former guardian.

The door closed and Misato walked away, not wanting the boy to hear her break down and cry. All the while, the only thoughts going through her head was that is what was best for everyone.

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Two months had passed and the situation was, to put it mildly... grave.

Rei Ayanami was killed snipering the Fifth Angel, but was herself killed as well when the energy beams collided with each target. Somehow, she was able to make a miraculous return to the living, but so extensive were her injuries, she was currently in a coma.

Second Child Asuka Langley Sohryu from Germany was killed during the 6th Angel ocean battle. She died due to her over enthusiasm and recklessness. And as a result of her rather low synch ratio, she was still inside the Angel when the two battleships Misato sent to her exploded and took her with the whale-like Angel.

And the Fourth Child Toji Suzuhara was killed by the 7th Angel due to his own inexperience and the fact he was immediately double-teamed, which no one could have expected would happen when the Angel suddenly split into two smaller versions of itself.

Currently, NERV had no ready pilots and only Unit 01 has been repaired. It was one day before the effects of the N2 Mine were about to wear off and the 7th Angel fully rejuvenated itself to attack once again.

The situation: bleak. The odds of survival: zero.

Everyone, even Commander Gendo Ikari, was filled with dread.

The office of Dr Ritsuko Akagi...

"What are we going to do?" Misato asked, her head buried in her hands as the computer on Ritsuko's desk counted down to the Angel recovery time, as predicted by The Magi.

"Well, I think we should try and find Shinji." the blond doctor said in a fluster, trying to keep herself busy with something called the Dummy Plug System.

"But... we can't..." the female Operations Director started to say.

"SHUT UP, MISATO!" Ritsuko shouted. "We've lost two pilots since Shinji left and Rei's still in recovery!" she fumed and pulled another cigarette from her labcoat. "God! Shinji takes out two Angels by himself, comes out with only a couple scratches and you convince him to leave! Luck or talent We Need Him! Rei could have died stopping the 5th Angel, Asuka died fighting the 6th, and Toji was killed by the 7th. To say nothing about the JetAlone incident that destroyed Old Tokyo. God, we really could have used the Eva's to stop it."

Misato didn't need to hear this. She didn't need to hear that she was responsible for all this. She was sad enough that Shinji was gone.

"We were lucky that N2 Mine slowed down the 7th, but according to the Magi we've only got 27 hours before it's fully regenerated, and we don't have any pilots! What the hell are we going to do?"

Just then, Ryoji Kaji entered the room.

"Hello, Misato. Ritsuko. I've brought you something you're going to like." the unshaven man said with his usual cocky smile.

Misato wasn't in the mood for his flirting, in fact considering how bad she felt now she was seriously considering pulling her gun and shooting him. That is until she saw a young man emerge from behind him.

Ritsuko's cigarette fell out of her mouth. Misato could only stare in shock.

"So tell me Misato, are you going to let me put other people before myself, or do you want to die?" The boy said with a grimace.

"...shinji..."

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Kaji ushered Ritsuko out of the office when she started coughing up smoke due to her cigarettes and Shinji's sudden reappearance. This left Shinji and Misato to head down to the Eva cages.

"Shinji, I just..." Misato started to say.

"Don't!"

She gasped as he snapped at her.

"I know why you did it, Misato. I know why you told me to go. You thought you were helping. For that I want to thank you, for thinking of me. But like the commander said, there's no one else. Mr Kaji told me you've lost two pilots since I left, and Rei hasn't even woken up yet. He also told me what happened with the JetAlone robot that was supposed to replace Eva. I don't know if my being here would have changed anything, but I can't undo the past. However, I'm not running anymore, Misato, because I don't want others to die because of my inactions. I don't care if I do sound like a noble warrior, or if I do come off being selfless. This is my job. So just wish me 'good luck', stand aside and let me put an end to this."

Misato stood to the side as Shinji marched past her.

"Good luck, Shinji." she said, tears threatening to fall down her face.

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Shinji was easily victorious over the still recovering 7th Angel. The main trouble had been to find someone to pilot the Eva's, and they had that now.

"This is Shinji Ikari." the boy said into the communicator. "The Angel is dead. Am proceeding to dump the body in the ocean and then return to base."

"Understood, Shinji. And welcome back." Ritsuko said.

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"Good job, Shinji." Ritsuko said, greeting the boy as he emerged from the entry plug.

"Thank's Dr Akagi." the boy replied with a weak smile.

"So, I guess this means NERV's best pilot is back in the saddle." she said, trying to cheer him a little. Maybe even herself.

"I take it Rei still hasn't woken up?" he asked, as he shook the LCL out of his hair.

"No. And without her, it's just you until she does, or until we find the Fifth Child."

"Don't." he said simply, not looking at her.

She blinked. "What?"

"Don't look for them."

"What are you saying, Shinji?" the confused scientist asked.

"I'll fight all the Angels, by myself if I have to." he declared.

"Shinji! You can't do..."

"Two Months, Ritsuko!" he cut her off. "For two whole months I let my anger, my frustration, my fear, my cowardice, and my indecision eat away at me. It nearly consumed me. More so than when I lived alone for ten years after father abandoned me! And the cost has been devastating, hasn't it?" he asked, nearly spitting as he did. "That's when Kaji came and laid out the facts before me. I've taken down two Angels by myself and only got a few bruises. Rei's in a coma, and the other two pilots are dead. I told him it was luck, he said it was part of my destiny. That I was the best one. Now... I'm the only one. Maybe if I'd been here instead of running away things would be different. Maybe those pilots would still be alive, maybe..." he fumed, but stopped him, slowly unclenching his fists. "It doesn't matter now. This is my job, this is what I have to do, and no matter what... I'm not going to run."

Ritsuko looked at the boy, feeling herself getting hot just by listening to him.

"It's all on my shoulders now. So I guess the only thing to do is just plant my feet, dig in, and use everything I got. Nothing else to do, right?"

"Umm... right."

Shinji turned away from her and headed towards the showers.

"Shinji?" Ritsuko called to him, stopping the boy in his tracks.

"Yeah?" He asked, turning to look at her.

"Where... how... who are you?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well... two months of letting your emotions stew and you're like a completely new person. I just... how did this happen?"

Shinji looked at her, his face baring virtually no emotion. "Lets just say that I got disgusted with myself for being a coward." he said as he turned and walked away.

Ritsuko could only watch him go. _Damn! I'm loving this new kid!_

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After his shower, Shinji walked into Rei's room and stood by the side of her bed.

"Hello Ayanami." he said. "It's me, Shinji. I don't know if you can hear me, I don't know if you would even care to listen. But since you can't complain, I'll just tell you anyway. I'm back and I'm going to stay. A lot has happened since I left, and I just... You and I don't know each other very well, but we're all that's left. Two pilots against who knows how many more Angels. Until you get better, I'm on my own. I guess in a way, I've always been on my own." he sighed heavily at that. "My job is to pilot Eva so that I can protect the world. I don't know if I can do it alone, but I'm sure as hell going to try. I have to. Now I'll never get to know Toji or that German pilot Asuka, so that means you're my only friend and comrade. Wake up soon, Rei Ayanami. I have a feeling I'm going to need your help."

He leaned down and kissed her forehead gently.

As he left, he didn't notice the thin smile that mysteriously spread across her lips.

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"Misato." the boy said after an endless search for his former guardian.

"Shinji!" the surprised woman gasped.

"So, have you rented out my old room yet, or is it still available?" he asked.

"You... want to live with me?"

"Why not? You're the first person who took me in."

"But, after everything that I said, that happened, I mean..."

"Forget it." he waved her off.

"What?"

"You can't change the past no matter how much you want to. And as bad as I feel about how things have gone, I'm not totally responsible."

"Shinji..."

"Wait, let me finish." he said, holding up his hand.

Misato shut up as he put his hand down and continued to talk.

"In a way, you do share some of the blame. But if you wouldn't mind, I'd like to share it with you."

"You... what do you..."

"Misato, I consider you closer to being actual family than my own father. And last time I checked, families carry each others burdens."

Misato smiled at that little confession.

"But I _told_ you to leave, Shinji." she protested.

"And I _chose_ to do it, Misato." he gave her a lite smile.

"But I made you leave because I thought it was best... for you."

Shinji just shook his head. He held out his hand to her. "Misato! Are you going to stand there just talking in circles and let me make another mistake, or are you going to take my hand and give me a hug before you start crying?"

Misato took his hand and pulled him to her, throwing her arms around the boy and hugged him tightly.

"I missed you, Shinji-kun." she said, crying heavily now.

"I missed you too, mommy Misato." Shinji smiled as he held her tightly.

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The pair had held each other for who knows how long, eventually Misato's tears had stopped.

"You've really matured, haven't you, Shinji-kun?" the older man said as she lead the young man out of NERV and back to her car.

"After everything that's happened, trying to remain a scared child would be kinda stupid." he replied, liking the feel of Misato's arm around his shoulder.

_Funny. That sounds like something Asuka would have said. I wish you could have met her, Shinji. _Misato thought.

"Oh, and Misato?" Shinji asked as soon as they got to the car.

"Yeah?"

"I want Rei to come live with us."

"Really?" she asked as the pair got into the blue Renault.

"We're the only two left. We're going to need someone else to rely on if we're going to pilot together and all."

Misato smiled. "I'll see what I can do."

Shinji would need an ally, Rei would need a friend, and Misato would need a family if they were going to survive this whole bloody, and thus far semi-successful war.

It may not have seemed like a selfless action, wanting something for themselves, but need and want are two different things. But to put others before yourself, to fight for them, to have them as your reason to live, was something that could give you such strength. And it was this strength that Shinji would need to see this war through.

He would fight the Angels, maybe on his own, maybe alongside others, but he would fight.

He would fight for Misato, for Rei, for Ritsuko... and everyone else on the planet Earth.

This is who he was, and he wasn't going to run from it.

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Author's Notes:

I hoped everyone enjoyed this little story. For awhile I was wondering what would have happened if Shinji had left NERV after the Fourth Angel battle. So I wrote my own story as to what might have taken place.

The real kicker was what would I do with Shinji. Would I have him still be the same introverted and meek young man who would come crawling back to NERV because he had nowhere else to go, or would he be stronger because of the selflessness he originally felt before he got on that train?

I decided to go with stronger. Believe me, letting your emotions churn and build up inside you for a long period of time can make you see things differently, and even give you inner strength you didn't know you possessed.

I don't know if I'm going to write a second chapter or just leave it. I also don't know who I'm going to pair Shinji up with in this story. Maybe Rei or Misato, maybe no one right away. I'm also considering redoing this story as I feel it's probably missing something.

So, for now, just be happy with what you have here.

And as always, read and review.


	2. Lava Dive

_**SELFLESS ACTION**_

by Gunman

Disclaimer: I do not own anything in Eva because Misato out-drank me.

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Chapter 2

"So let me get this straight: you want me to wear a big, clunky suit, to go lava-diving in a volcano to capture an Angel that hasn't woken up yet?" Shinji asked as he looked at the monitor that had a vague thermo-image of said Angel.

It honestly looked like something had taken a picture of an embryo in an egg.

"That's the plan." Misato confirmed.

"Am I getting hazard pay out of this?" he asked.

"Hazard pay? Isn't the safety of mankind enough?" Ritsuko asked.

"Someone telling me 'thank you' doesn't pay my bills or put food on my plate. And since I'm the only pilot with a working Eva..."

"I'll ask the commander about it."

"So, that's a no?" he said sarcastically.

Ritsuko looked at the boy and smirked, realizing he was probably right. She went on to her work as Misato came over to the boy.

"Why the sudden interest in being paid, Shinji-kun?" Misato asked.

"I'm the only available pilot with a working Eva and you're sending me into a volcano to capture a live Angel. Guy needs some incentive to do this, right?"

"You agreed to pilot without wanting us to find the other pilot candidates." she pointed out.

"Yeah. I put myself out front so others wouldn't have to, but I'm not stupid enough to just do it for free." he replied.

"Why do I not believe that?" she smirked.

Shinji paused and smiled at the woman. "So what have you got to keep me alive in molten lava?"

"Let me show you."

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"You have got to be kidding me!" Shinji grumbled after adjusting the suit.

"Why? What's wrong?" Misato asked from outside the locker room.

"I look like that kid from 'Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory'. You know, the one that turned into a giant blueberry." he said as he walked out of the locker room, his plugsuit now expanded to an enormous spherical shape yet maintained his ability to walk.

Misato couldn't help but laugh a little at the image that waddled out.

"Would you like to wear this suit?" Shinji threatened.

"Sorry. But there is a reason for this Shinji." Misato said.

"Special insulation to keep you from sweating to death and overheating. And the special D-Type Extreme Hazardous Environmental Equipment we use on the Eva, while it looks like a deep-sea hard suit, is specially made for situations like this." Ritsuko stated as she wrote in her clipboard.

However, Shinji wasn't convinced. "There's something your not telling me."

Ritsuko smirked. Shinji had become more perceptive.

"The suit's were made for deep submersion in magma, the hardsuit to protect Eva, the new plugsuit to keep you from roasting. But even they have their limits. Go too deep and the pressure will collapse the hardsuit and the Eva." the blond explained.

"And how deep is deep?" Shinji asked.

"We... never had a chance to test it under extreme volcanic conditions." she said sheepishly.

"Already I love this!" he said sarcastically as he depressurized his plugsuit back to it's original body tight fitting pressure.

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Shinji and Unit 01 were perched at the mouth of the volcano. Actually they were hanging over the mouth of the volcano, the pool located several dozens meters down from the mouth.

"Commence Operation!" Misato shouted.

"And the monkey goes for a swim." Shinji chirped as his Eva was lowered into the pool.

While the descent continued, past the upper layer of the lava itself, the boy himself falling into a state of meditation. His thoughts drifting back to that day he had left Tokyo-3.

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"Welcome back, Shinji." the older man said as the boy stepped off the train in New Osaka.

"Hello, sensei." the boy said.

"Did you find what you were looking for?"

"...no." he said with obvious sadness.

"I see. Well, Sayuri and I kept your room."

"Thank you."

The pair drove back to the house where the middle aged woman met them, sweeping the boy into warm hug.

It was a couple days later. Shinji hadn't left his room. He had just been sleeping, reading, and crying.

**So what now, little man?** A strange figure asked as Shinji rose his head up to see that he was no longer in his room. But he was on a train of sorts. He was sitting in the middle of the car itself, across from another figure, dressed in a shirt and shorts. His head was down but his hair was combed like his.

What? Who are you? Shinji asked.

**I am you**. the figure said, not lifting his eyes up to meet him.

Me? Then... who am I? 

**Not even going to fight for your identity are we? **

What do you mean? 

**You're weak, Shinji Ikari. That's why you really left everyone in Tokyo-3. **

They didn't want me.

**They needed you**.

Misato told me to go.

**Maybe there was a reason for it.**

She didn't want me. She apologized for putting so much on me.

**She needed you just like the rest**.

The rest? 

**That injured girl, Rei. Those computer techs. That blond doctor. Misato's penguin. The kids at your school.**

They're better off without me.

**If that's what you believe, then it must be true**.

It is.

**Then you really will be alone, you idiot.**

I am alone.

**Come On! You are never alone. You just want to be because you think you deserved it. It wasn't your fault your mother died, but you believed it was. Your self-pity is pathetically overwhelming you know that? Your mother wouldn't have wanted this for you. **

Mother...

**Think about this, Shinji. Do you remember what kind of person she was? **

I don't... I don't remember.

**I think you do. You just chose to forget. You forgot your own mother!**

No! I didn't... I ... I... mother! He thought as he began crying again.

**What do you remember about her, Shinji? **

Why do you want to know?!!!

**BECAUSE YOU NEED TO!!!**

His mind strained as to remember what he had chosen to forget all those years ago.

I remember... her smile.

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(Shinji! Scanners are blind up here. But you should be getting close to the estimated position of the Angel!) Misato said through the communicator.

"Right." Shinji replied as he got the Eva's external camera's up to full viewing.

The images were all red and there was little in the way of actual images, shapes or forms.

"It ridiculously blurry down here."

(How blurry is it?)

"It's so blurry you think the volcano was drinking your beer."

He heard laughter on the other end.

(Can you make out anything?)

"Nothing down here to make out with."

(Except the Angel.)

"Only if it's as pretty as you."

(Enough with the jokes you two!) Ritsuko's voice came across the comm. (You should be able to see something, Shinji.)

"Still not seeing..."

SQUEAL!!!

(What was that?) Misato asked.

"That would be the sound of the D-Type Equipment starting to buckle under the pressure of this boiling hot volcano." Shinji replied.

(Should we pull you up?) Misato asked, sounding panicked.

"Hold it! I see something. It's vague, but I think it's the Angel." Shinji replied.

(Can you get it?) Ritsuko asked.

"Just a few more meters."

Within seconds, Shinji was in position and had the electro-magnetic cage wrapped around the Angel.

"This is Shinji! I've got the Angel!"

(Roger! Bringing you up now!) Misato shouted orders to the crew.

However, within seconds of being lifted back up to the surface, the Angel started waking up.

(Shinji! We're detecting seismic activity!) Ritsuko shouted.

(What's going on?) Misato asked.

"The Angel's Waking Up!" Shinji shouted.

True to his prediction, the Angel exploded out from the electro-magnetic cage and started swimming around and towards him.

"ARGH!" he shouted as the Angel collided with his Eva.

(Shinji!) Misato shouted.

"I'm under attack!" Shinji shouted.

(We're bringing you back up!)

"NO!"

(WHAT?) The woman gasped.

"If This Thing Gets Out Of The Volcano, It'll Head Straight To NERV! We Have To Stop It Here!" he shouted at the woman as he dropped the capture cage and pulled his Prog. Knife.

(You're In It's Element, Shinji! It Has The Advantage!) Ritsuko shouted.

"ARGH!" he cried out as the Angel slammed into him again. "That's What It Thinks!"

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Back on the surface...

"Ma'am! Unit 01's AT-Field is spreading!" Maya Ibuki shouted from her console.

"Spreading? What is he doing?" Misato gasped.

"Is he trying to fight it in molten lava?" Ritsuko asked.

"Guess so." Misato said as a small earthquake shook the mobile headquarters.

"What that the volcano, or him?" the blond asked.

"MA'AM!" Maya shouted.

"What?"

"The pilots synch ratio is increasing! It's up to 70"

"WHAT?" both women clamored.

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Shinji's AT-Field spread past the point of the D-Type Equipment's restrictions, exploding the suit and encasing the purple Eva in a personal force field of sorts.

"Alright, baby! Come to Shinji!" the boy growled as the Angel advanced on him once more.

Though the visibility of the magma made it difficult to see, Shinji was able to see the vague outline of the Angel just before it struck him. Quickly maneuvering by use of both arms and legs, Shinji was able to make Unit 01 jump up just in time to avoid the large mouth of the Angel and grab onto it's back, enabling him to ride it like a man riding a shark.

"NOW I'VE GOT YOU!" Shinji shouted as he wrestled with the lava-borne Angel as it continued to thrash about inside the lava.

His AT-Field still holding, Shinji grabbed what he thought was the mouth of the Angel and turned it upwards to the surface.

"MISATO! Get Ready With The Coolant!" he shouted.

(Coolant?) The woman asked, confused.

"When I tell you, release all the coolants into the middle tube of the D-Type Equipment's suit, and cover your head!"

(Cover my head?)

Shinji steered the Angel towards the surface as it continued to swim at high speeds. The second it broke the face of the magma, Shinji pushed the Eva to leap off the Angel, and used the forward momentum to catapult himself back up to the rim of the volcano.

Like a performer at Sea World being propelled through the air by a trained killer whale as it broke the surface.

Shinji had also managed to steer the Angel directly under the harness that had lowered the Eva into the flow. Which meant that the coolant tubes were pointed directly at the Angel as it broke the surface.

"MISATO NOW!" Shinji shouted as his Eva flew up and landed on the ridge.

The purple hair woman slammed her hands into the console and flushed all the coolant into the tube, giving the surfacing magma-Angel a shower of super cold coolants. The intense cold washed over the Angel and froze it in an instant, straight to it's core.

It was frozen solid before falling back into the lava where it melted away completely.

"Ma'am! Angel's blue pattern has vanished!" Maya said.

Misato rushed out of the mobile command unit as Shinji ejected from the entry plug.

"Shinji?" Misato gasped as she ran up to the lava-less Eva. "Are you alright?"

"I HAVE RIDDEN THE MIGHTY LAVA WORM!" the boy shouted as he pumped his fist into the air.

The woman grimaced a little. "Show off." she said, then smiled.

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As a reward for defeating the Angel, the NERV crew was treated to a relaxing day at a nearby hot springs. Misato had also arranged for PenPen to join them.

Shinji and Misato were the first ones there because the others had 'clean-up' work to do. The boy must have been tired because he found his way not to the men's side of the hot springs, but the women's side. He must have also not cared that you had to be naked to use these springs.

"Well this is nice." he said sarcastically as he rested his back against the rocks of the pool.

"Something wrong, Shinji-kun?" Misato asked as she hung her legs over the side of the pool where she sat next to Shinji, her upper torso exposed to the warm steam air. Misato was actually using this whole thing to tease the boy a little. She wondered if anyone would think her a slut for sitting here beside him with only a towel to keep her covered, but knew that Shinji was in the women's side and he had walked in on his own accord.

"First you dunk me in molten magma, then dunk me in boiling hot water." he said, as he sat up on the rock, his towel over his lap. He was almost sitting level with the woman.

"You complain too much." she said, patting his head.

"Yeah, I know. So why didn't Ritsuko and the others come by?" he asked, craning his neck to get the kinks out.

"They'll be by later. Why? Did you want to see them naked as well?" she teased.

Shinji then reached around and grabbed one of Misato's breasts.

"SHINJI!" she gasped at his boldness.

"I was right. They are real." he smirked.

"Why You Little...!" she clamored as she jumped at the boy, wrapping her arms around his head and tackling him under the water of the heated pools.

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"So, why did you do that, Shinji-kun?" she asked as she hugged him tightly from behind, her chest pressed up against his back. "After you calling me mother, I was a little shocked you started groping me."

"Well, I do think of you as a mother. Since you were kind enough to take me in and all." Shinji replied. "But... we're not related by blood, and I'm sure that my father isn't going to give me hazard pay, so I figured..."

"You'd take your reward out of me?" she interjected.

"It was well worth it."

"Why You!" she laughed as she put him in a tight headlock.

"I'm serious!" he gasped.

"Meaning?"

"You're a beautiful woman, Misato." he said, causing Misato to ease up on her headlock. No one had ever called her beautiful before. Not her mother, her father, even Kaji when they were dating in college. "Being with a beautiful woman like you, like this, right now, is something that every man and boy my age would kill for." he said as he turned around to face her, not blushing in the slightest. "You care about me like family, however close that might be."

"This is a little closer than most." she stated, reminding him of their nudity.

"This is a war, Misato. We fight to live, to continue to exist. But to forget what we fight for would be as bad as just giving up."

"So... you needed a reason to fight?" she asked.

"You're my family, Misato." he said seriously. "I'll fight for you." he said as she smiled warmly, leaning in to kiss her on the cheek. The woman blushed a little, speechless. Suddenly, a splashing caught their attention as a penguin paddled past them. "And you too PenPen."

The pair laughed as the penguin continued swimming. Misato kissed the side of Shinji's head, just holding the boy to her tightly.

_Yes, I'll fight for you, Misato. And PenPen. But also for Rei and the people of NERV. They're my family, after all_. Shinji thought as he just enjoyed the embrace the woman gave him.

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Author's Notes:

It's been a while since I updated this story. For a time I was wondering myself if I would ever get this story updated. But after so many people kept sending in reviews, so I decided to add on to and make more of these. I'm probably going to be adding more chapter later on, but for now here's #2.

And I have made this so that people will see the changes that Shinji went through during his two months way from NERV and Tokyo-3.

This is mostly a Shinji/Misato chapter. The whole story I decided is going to be a Shinji/Rei/Misato story like some have suggested.

And as always, Read and Review.

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OMAKE!

Shinji then reached around and grabbed one of Misato's breasts.

"SHINJI!" she gasped at his boldness.

"I was right. They are real." he smirked.

"Why You Little...!" she clamored as she jumped at the boy, wrapping her arms around his head and tackling him under the water of the heated pools.

Naked wrestling in a hot springs with a sexy young woman would have normally made Shinji faint dead away. But he wasn't the same boy he was when he first arrived in Tokyo-3.

The pair struggled a bit before Misato brought them up to the surface, her arms wrapped around the boy as her chest pressed against his. She had stopped struggling under the water and the second she noticed this, she brought him back up.

"Are you alright, Shinji-kun?" she asked. "I didn't get water in your lungs, did I?"

"No, you didn't." he gasped. "Just in my mouth."

"Let me see." she asked as Shinji suddenly leaned in and kissed her flush on the mouth.

Her eyes opened wide as the boy kissed her.

He pulled back and just stared into her eyes. "Misato-chan?"

"Where did you learn to kiss like that?" she asked.

"Did you like it?" he asked.

"Yes, actually." she smiled as she touched her forehead to his, staring into his eyes. "Even Kaji never kissed me like that."

Shinji smiled as he leaned in and kissed Misato again, the woman reciprocating this time.


	3. Uphill Battle

_**SELFLESS ACTION**_

by Gunman

Disclaimer: I do not own anything in Eva because Asuka is mean.

dennisud: Let's just say that Rei isn't going to be as stoic as her third version should be.

shinji the good sharer: all things considered, I thought coping a feel was unexpected. Heck, Shinji may be stronger and more confident now, but he's not Kaji. He's got a ways to go before that.

Krimzonrayne: Chill, dude. Just because I only updated three stories the last time, only meant that I wasn't satisfied with the other updates for my stories.

Fifth Horseman: If you think Gendo's gonna have trouble controlling Shinji, you should read this new update.

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Chapter 3

_This is just unbelievably lame!_ Shinji thought as he continued to crawl through the massive duct of the NERV facility.

The Third Child had reported in to check on Rei when he had been caught in a sudden blackout like everyone else in the facility. The emergency power lights were only in certain places in NERV, and did not give much light to over 80 of the underground Geofront.

As such, the boy had to meander through the darkened hallways of NERV until he came to the command center. When he arrived he noticed that only Ritsuko, Maya, Makoto, and Shigeru were there. Apparently his father and the sub-commander were away from the base, which left Misato in charge of the base, and she was nowhere to be found right now.

That and Makoto, who was late getting to NERV, had come in shouting about an Angel approaching the city.

At this, everyone in NERV worked long and hard to get Eva 01 to launch. Shinji had helped them the most, by using the purple biomechanical weapon to remove the cage platform after getting into the giant robot.

The next task, using a walkie-talkie that connected him to Ritsuko, was to get the Eva up to the surface where the Angel.

The only problem was that he was alone for this task, his Eva currently had only three minutes of power left, and he was at the bottom of a deep shaft that lead to the surface where the Angel was positioned and dumping acid into the facility.

You sure don't make this easy, do you? He thought as he quickly scanned and assessed the situation.

_I'm at the bottom of a thousand meter shaft. The Angel is up top dumping acid into the shaft. I'm almost out of power and my AT-Field isn't close enough for me to neutralize it so that I can take out that thing. GOD I LOVE THIS!!! _Shinji mentally screamed as he quickly got a rather makeshift idea.

He took note of where the acid was falling down, and quickly moved around it. The walls were fairly smooth and there were virtually no grooves for his Eva to grasp. Fortunately his Eva had been equipt with two weapons before he left: a rifle and rocket launcher.

_Let's cause some damage_. Shinji grinned as he hoisted his rocket launcher and rifle in both hands and started moving around the shaft to avoid the acid that was falling in virtually the center of it all. Firing both weapons simultaneously he started carving out the necessary grooves and holes that he would need to get him to the surface.

The rockets and bullets pounded the sides of the shaft until the rounds were completely spent. He dropped the weapons and looked at his power gauge.

_1:40. Better start climbing_. He thought as he ambled up the long gashed out vertical tunnel.

Like a giant purple monkey that was going spelunking, only in reverse, Eva 01 quickly climbed up towards it's enemy, avoiding the acid as best he could. Several drops pelted his shoulders and back as he continued his ascent, the intensity increasing with every meter he advanced. He was more that half-way up the shaft when the Angel noticed him climbing and shifted it's position to pour more acid on top of him.

_Turning up the juice, are we?_ Shinji thought as he fought to keep the Angel's acid off him using his AT-Field as he continued to head to the top.

Shinji looked at the power gauge and noticed it only had 45 seconds left.

(Shinji! How are you doing?) Ritsuko called through to him on the radio.

"Kind of busy, right now, Ritsuko!" he shouted back. "I've got 350 meters to go and I'm taking an acid bath at the same time!"

(A what?)

"TELL YOU LATER!" he shouted and dropped the radio.

Staring at the shaft he came up with only one conclusion. _Looks like I'm going to have to go extremely dangerous for this now._ He thought as he leaped across the shaft empty space to a higher point across from him.

However, doing so meant that he had to pass through the acid waterfall and that meant that he had to increase his AT-Field with each jump.

Jump! Increase AT-Field strength! Twist in mid-air! Grab onto opposite wall several meters higher up! Repeat!

_15 Seconds left! Come On!_ Shinji groaned as he pushed his Eva to make a stronger leap with each pushing off of the walls.

He was less than ten meters from the opening of the shaft and quickly pulled out his Prog Knife.

_One chance!_ He thought as he looked up at the body of the multi-eyed Angel that was dripping acid from it's sockets.

The counter was down to five seconds when Shinji leaped straight up at the Angel, his head barreling through the down pouring acid, but brought his knife arm up at an outside angle and succeeded in plunging it into the upper part of the Angel. The knife went deep, the weight of the Eva bringing the energized Prog. Knife slicing down the side of the Angel. The Eva's power died as the Angel did, the knife succeeding in slicing at it's core as Shinji, his Eva, and the Angel dropped back into the deep shaft of NERV.

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_So, are we going to have another discussion on the fragile life that belongs to Shinji Ikari?_ The familiar voice said.

_What do you want?_ Shinji asked.

_Ooooh. A little testy are we? _

_I have good reason to be. _

_Says the guy who accomplishes the impossible everyday. _

_You're not going to leave until we talk, are you? _

_No. But then again it's not like I can't find you wherever you go._

He sighed. _I'm listening. _

Months ago you were finally able to admit that what happened wasn't your fault in regards to your mother. But now I see that you're taking on danger headfirst, as if you have nothing to live for. Why all the crazy stunt work? 

_In case you haven't noticed we're fighting a war. _

_A war in which you are not a one-man army_.

_I'm the only Eva pilot here_.

_There's that cute Rei Ayanami, and NERV has been looking for the other Eva pilots... _

_I told them not to!_

_Because you think you're strong enough to fight this war alone?_

_No._

_Because you believe yourself to be a hero?_

_No!_

_Because you believe that you deserve to suffer for the things that happened after you left, so you're throwing yourself into harms way as a way of paying penance?_

Shinji paused. Did he think that what happened was his fault? _Well... maybe I do feel a little guilty. I mean it was my job! I was the only one who could pilot, everyone said so!_

_They also threw you into an un-combat-tested robot you've never seen before to fight a giant monster you never knew existed. It's a miracle you didn't die._

_I was lucky_.

_Luck or skill, it doesn't really matter now. You're not afraid to fight. Maybe not even afraid to die. And that's a problem._

_Problem? I'm not afraid of death. Doesn't that mean I can face anything that comes across my path?_

_Yes. But if you don't fear dying, you don't care about living, and if you don't care about living you will get other people killed in time by your reckless actions_.

Shinji took all of that in and bowed his head.

_I'll... thanks. It was pretty reckless of me, wasn't it? _

_A little_.

_I guess I needed to hear that. Good kick to the head and all_.

_And I give them to you freely_.

Shinji's expression turned sour.

_Time to wake up, boy!_

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Shinji awoke to the sight of the unfamiliar ceiling he had seen his first days when he arrived at the top-secret NERV facility.

He tried to move and turned his head to see the kind face of Ritsuko Akagi staring back at him.

"The hero awakens." the blond scientist smiled.

"And alive it seems." he grinned. "I won?"

"Yes. And judging from the mess you made I can guess how, but I'll wait to read all about it in your mission report."

"Ohhhhh boy!"

"What's wrong?"

"I hate doing paperwork."

"Join the club, Shinji-kun." she smiled.

"Well... at least I get a pretty doctor to look after me." he said.

Ritsuko smiled wider before leaning forward to kiss the boy on his forehead. "You're sweet Shinji."

"I mean it, Ritsuko. You are very pretty." he stated.

She blushed as her smile turned serious. "And that means more to me than you know."

"Hitting on other women now, Shinji-kun?" Misato's voice cut through the air as the purple-haired woman entered the room. "I'm hurt."

"Don't tease him, Misato." Ritsuko said. "Or I'll tell him about how we found you and Kaji in the elevator after the power was restored."

"What?" Misato gasped.

"Elevator?" Shinji asked.

"Ritsuko!!" the purple woman growled.

"OH! Help me Shinji! Save me from the mad woman!" the blond scientist teased as she hide on the other side of the bed from Misato.

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Shinji was out of the hospital in a few days and was walking through the hallways when he passed the one person he would rather have avoided.

"Hello, father." Shinji said with some disdain in his voice.

"Pilot." Gendo said solemnly as he walked steadily past the boy.

No. Not this time! Shinji groaned as he turned around and shouted. "FATHER!"

The volume was enough to get Gendo's attention.

"Did you want something?" Gendo asked as he actually turned around.

"Can I be honest about something?" Shinji asked.

Gendo cocked an eyebrow at the boy. "What exactly?"

"You're a hypocrite." he stated.

"What?"

"You say you need me, but you don't give me any respect. You say that our job is to prevent a Third Impact, but you don't tell us how or by what."

"The Angels. I thought that was obvious."

"And that's another thing. The Angels."

"What about them?"

"Why do they keep coming here, to Tokyo-3?"

Gendo froze, but didn't show any signs of reaction.

"Of all the places in the world, why here? Why Tokyo-3? Somehow I don't think it's just to fight the Eva's."

"That is not your concern." he stated.

"Wrong!" Shinji declared.

Gendo grimaced, even more so.

"What?"

"It's my neck on the line, and the world's fate on my shoulders. I'm out there face-to-face with those things before anyone else. I think I have a reason to be concerned and curious."

"You're job is to pilot the Eva and defeat the Angels." he reminded the boy.

"And then what?"

"Pardon?"

"After we're done fighting the Angels, defeated them all, then what?"

Gendo was silent.

"Haven't thought about it? Or maybe you have."

"Is this going somewhere, pilot?"

"Maybe we'll win, maybe we'll die. And we don't even know the reason behind it all. But if I had to guess, I'd say you're somehow involved."

"What makes you say that?" he said at the accusation.

"Because you're not this stupid."

He vaguely wondered if that was a compliment or a delayed statement for a deeper accusation.

"You may be cold, manipulative, heartless and ruthless, but I find it impossible that you could be so ignorant as to why the Angels are really coming here."

Shinji paused a few seconds to let Gendo absorb that.

"There's too much going on for you not to have figured this out. Humanity is in danger, and for some reason, I get this feeling... that you're behind it."

There was a small part of Gendo that was actually proud that his son had figured all this out. Still...

"This line of reasoning, could be construed as treasonous." he said.

Shinji smirked. "Something you've been accused of, I'm sure."

"You don't trust me."

Shinji looked at him as if he was kidding.

"You abandoned me when I was four. You called me back only because you have a need for me. Then you used an injured girl to goad me into the pilot seat of a robot I've never seen or heard of, to fight a monster I never knew existed. You threw me into path of the bullet, 'father'. Why should I believe you have humanities best interest at heart?"

Gendo said nothing, and Shinji, realizing that he was not going to get any answers out of the man, just turned around and walked off.

In the back of his mind, Gendo felt a small tinge of fear start to roll up as he realized that Shinji might be a potential threat to his scenario.

And the real problem was... he needed him!

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"Are we ready to go, Rei-chan?" Shinji asked as he stepped into the hospital room.

"Ikari-san." the blue-haired girl said as the boy pushed the wheelchair in.

"That's me!" he said with a smile. "Your chariot awaits madam."

"Uh... what is this for?"

"Misato made the arrangements for you to come live with me and her." he said as he handed her a change of address form.

Rei blinked as she read the official document. "I am... going to live with you?"

"Kind of have to. Your apartment building was demolished. The 9th Angel knocked it over when it was roaming through the city." Shinji explained.

"I see. Then... I thank you." she replied as she sat down in the chair, a pleasant feeling of warmth surging through her.

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"WELCOME REI!!!" Misato shouted as the blue-haired girl stepped through the door.

The girl involuntarily recoiled and pressed up against Shinji, as if in fear, or surprise.

"Don't worry. She's much better when you get to know her." Shinji joked.

Just then PenPen waddled through the apartment, looked at Rei, then hurried to his fridge.

"Was that..." the girl started to ask.

"PenPen. A warm-water penguin that Misato adopted a while back." Shinji explained.

"He is the Captain's pet?"

"Yes."

"And actually, it's Major now." Misato grinned.

"Huh?" the pair looked on in confusion.

"That's right, Shinji-kun! It's a double celebration! I got a promotion and a new roommate." the woman smiled as she displayed her new military insignia on her collar.

She got a promotion? For doing what?

"Confused, Shinji-kun?" a new voice from behind the pair said as the boy and the girl turned around to see Ritsuko Akagi in the doorway.

"Ritsuko-san!" he gasped.

"Misato's promotion came after she located and arrested the person responsible for shutting down NERV and putting the entire city, and quite frankly the world, in jeopardy." the blond exclaimed.

"That and my numerous military accomplishments as director of operations in the continuing fight against the Angels. A pretty difficult job especially considering I sent our best pilot away to begin with." she said with some sadness.

Sensing that sadness in her, Shinji went over and hugged the woman.

"And I came back better than before." Shinji grinned as she returned the hug.

"Yes, you did. Now... LET'S PARTY!!!" She cried as she pulled the boy tighter into her cleavage.

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Author's Notes:

I usually do my best work under pressure to get it done. As a result, I thought this chapter turned out rather well.

The whole thing with Shinji using the Eva to rebound off the shaft's walls until he got high up enough to take out the Angel was a last minute thing I just came up with. All things considered in how Shinji had to take this thing on alone, I thought it made the most sense.

Hope everyone enjoyed this little update, as well as the deeper insight into how Shinji got stronger. And yes, I did have Ritsuko kiss Shinji, but she's not going to be shacking up with him like Rei and Misato are.

And I hope everyone enjoyed the conversation between Shinji and Gendo. Yes, Shinji is going to be more of a problem for Gendo and his scenario, and I have to work that out more later.

And as always, read and review.


	4. OneEva Catch

_**SELFLESS ACTION 4**_

by Gunman

Disclaimer: I own nothing as I always have.

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dogbertcarroll: Yes, Yes. Hikari is going to be one of the next pilots. But probably not until the next chapter.

Fifth Horseman: Gendo's gonna need a lot more than Advil and Pepto for what Shinji's gonna do.

NamelessHeretic: Shinji doesn't exactly have an Oedipidus Complex, though he did say to Misato that she was like a mother, though not blood related.

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It had been several days since the 9th Angel had attacked the city. Shinji had Rei moved in with him and Misato after the Angel had destroyed her apartment stomping through the city.

It was in this time, after Shinji had finished his report, after several hours of thinking and writing, he was able to finally relax.

_Hmm_. He thought as he picked up his bow and set his cello against his shoulder. _Hope I haven't forgotten anything. _

He started playing.

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Rei Ayanami was sitting on the couch of the living room, quietly reading her book. She had been there for hours since Major Katsuragi had been away at NERV, since she had little to do in the way of extracurricular activities. Because of Gendo the girl had little else to do and little incentive to take up anything new.

She would read and contemplate her life. Her life as an Eva pilot. She had no interest in her school work, going out, or even the simplest things girls her age were interested in.

Shopping, make-up, boys.

Eva was her life. And in a way, it made her sad.

Suddenly, her ears twitched as she heard a soft melody coming from the direction of the room of the Third Child.

She set her book down and followed the sound, stopping briefly at the crook in the door and just listened.

Seconds past, then minutes, and finally well into the second hour when the music stopped. In all that time, Rei had sat down next to the door and just listened to the music coming out.

Shinji emerged from his bedroom after a relaxing two hours and found Rei sitting next to his door.

"Rei?"

"Shinji?"

"What are you..." he paused as he looked over and saw a silvery line fall down her cheek. "Have you been crying?"

"I..." she paused and wiped the tear from her cheek. "I have never cried before."

"What were you doing here? Listening to me play?"

"I heard strange sounds coming from your room. It was so... beautiful. I was captivated."

Shinji smiled. He'd had a reaction from Rei, and that was a good sign.

"Rei... would you like to go and get some dinner?"

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The pair sat at the ramen stand where they simply ate noodles. Shinji had the pork and beef while Rei had the vegetarian bowl.

They said nothing for several minutes, until Shinji was able to unstuff his mouth.

"Is your food alright, Rei-chan?"

"It is... acceptable." she replied.

"Just acceptable? It isn't good? Filling? Nutritious?"

"Yes. It is all of those things."

"Then say that. It's food, Rei, not a piece of paper." he smiled.

"Very well."

Ten minutes later the pair were walking back to the apartment.

Shinji was having a fairly relaxing night of it. There were no Angels, no Eva-training, no call ins to NERV, and he was out with a beautiful girl. It was then that Rei chose to ruin the moment.

"You do not trust your father." she said.

"No. I don't." he replied, his smile failing.

"Why?"

"He abandoned me when I was only a child. He called me back because he had a use for me. A use. He's my father and he didn't even want to see me. He never wrote me, called me, sent me an email. Nothing. He uses everyone in his life. I wouldn't be surprised if he even used my mother for all this. How can I trust a man like that?" he asked.

"He is only doing what he thinks is right." she defended.

"Please don't defend him, Rei-chan. He doesn't deserve it." he spat.

"His job is to defend mankind from the Angels."

"No, Rei-chan. That's _our_ job." he corrected.

The pair arrived at the apartment and went inside before resuming speaking.

"I mean... what would you have me do? Forgive him?" Shinji asked.

"It would help." Rei replied.

"I can't."

"Why?"

"Because, Rei-chan... he's a cold, cruel, manipulative man. He uses other people to accomplish what he wants and gets mad at them when it's not done. And I don't think he had mankind's best interest at heart."

She looked at him curiously. "Why do you say that?"

"The Angels." he stated.

She looked at him.

"Haven't you ever asked why they keep coming here? To Tokyo-3? The only place in the world where we have an effective defense and the countermeasures to fight and defeat them?"

Rei was silent.

"When I was gone from Tokyo-3 for two months I had a lot of time to re-evaluate my life and think about what it was we were doing. I beat my brains out for days and days on end, thinking about the very things I chose to ignore and overlook the first time." he said before stopping to regain himself. "So far we've beaten seven of them, at great cost to ourselves. We've lost two pilots already. Hell, we nearly lost you too."

Rei kept silent at that.

"I don't know what's going on here, or how my 'father' is involved, but I know this: I can't be apathetic or weak anymore. I won't let anyone else be lost if I can help it." he declared.

"And so you are prepared to fight the other Angels, by yourself?" she asked.

"Yes." he said with resolve.

"I see."

"What do you see?" Shinji asked, off-handedly.

"You are much like your father."

It was then that Rei realized she shouldn't have said that.

"What did you say?" he asked, growling as he grabbed her arm and pulling her towards him, staring her dead in the eye. "What Did You Say?"

However, Rei wasn't so easily intimidated. "I said..."

"DON'T! Confuse me with him! I am nothing like that bastard!" he shouted.

Rei felt a shiver go through her.

"Are my eyes cold and lifeless as his? Do I use people to carry out my will? Do I sit behind the shield and barriers of NERV while others go out and face the enemy head-on?" he hissed as he stared at her eye-to-eye. "Or maybe you're right. Maybe I am like him... and I should start with you!"

"You love your mother." she said suddenly.

Shinji's rage died down.

"What?" he asked.

"The commander loved his wife. You loved your mother. In this... you have something in common." Rei explained. "He may never show it, but he does care... about her."

His grip loosened on her arm.

"I... I'm sorry, Rei." he said, looking away from her. "I'm sorry for hurting you."

"No. I was mistaken. You are not like your father."

He looked at her.

"You are kind, brave, and selfless. You have passion and emotion. You face your enemies in battle while the commander sits in his chair away from the danger, where it is safe." she said.

He nodded, at least relieved that she could admit that much.

"But you're right. I did love my mother. I love her still. The only good thing in my life... was her." he said sadly.

The pair were silent for several minutes, unmoving from their positions, before Rei spoke.

"You said before that you should start with me. What did you mean by that?"

Shinji looked at Rei for a second, before slowly moving towards her and gently bringing his lips to her own.

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Shinji and Rei awoke to the pleasant warmth of each others bodies, wrapped tightly against each other as they lay in Shinji's bed. Shinji had only his boxers on, Rei clad in her white panty and bra. Their arms were wrapped around each other tightly, their legs intertwined.

To anyone who saw them it would have been assumed that they just had sex. This was not the case.

Shinji's first kiss to the girl, while passionate, had awoken many feelings within her. She wanted more than just a kiss, which had lead to enthusiastic petting session borne from Shinji's attraction to her and Rei's awakening feelings.

To Rei it was wonderful. The necking, caressing and stripping of clothes had stimulated the blue-haired girl as she had never known. He had touched nerves and places even she didn't know were sensitive to touch.

To Shinji it was as a completion. As if his long-struggling feelings for the red-eyed girl had finally been realized, closing that chapter of his life and starting a new one. With her in it.

(AN: Boy, can I get corny or what?)

"Good morning, Rei-chan." he said as he stared at her.

"Good morning, Shinji-kun." she said as she looked back.

However, before anything else could happen, Shinji's cellphone went off.

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"So, what is this thing?" Shinji asked as he stared at the large monitor of what looked like a gigantic eyeball with two odd-looking limbs hovering in orbit above the Earth.

"Apparently, an Angel capable of dropping pieces of itself onto it's target." Misato explained. "Also, our earlier attempts to disable it with N2-Mines have proven useless."

"So, it's got an AT-Field strong enough to protect it from N2's." Shinji replied as he looked over at another map, which showed the splash areas the Angel was dropping it's parts onto. "It's not hitting anything specific." he noticed.

"No. It's slowly targeting. Getting closer with each drop." Ritsuko explained.

"Closer to us. And how are we going to stop this thing?" the boy asked.

Shinji looked at Misato as a realization hit him.

"You want me to catch it." he said.

"Huh?" Ritsuko gasped.

"How did..."

"If the thing drops down out of the sky in order to destroy it's enemies, then it's gonna drop down onto us, and since it's got an AT-Field, trying to blast it out of the sky is a moot point. Therefore, the plan is to catch it when it falls, using the Eva's AT-Field." Shinji deduced.

Everyone looked at Shinji in shock.

"It'll be difficult for me to catch it alone." he said.

"But you're not alone." Ritsuko said.

Shinji looked over at the blond scientist.

"Rei's Eva is working and she can pilot."

Shinji sighed. "Are you sure of that?" he asked.

"Shinji, what are you saying?" Ritsuko asked.

"Two-against-one are good odds, but if you're right about the range and devastation caused by this thing dropping down on us, it's possible we won't survive. Therefore it's smarter to have just me go in, as I have a better chance of catching it and possibly destroying it. If I don't make it, then you at least have a back-up in Rei to fight the rest of the Angels."

"WHAT KIND OF CRAZY PLAN IS THAT?" Ritsuko shouted, catching the group off guard.

"I hate to sound rude and all, Shinji-kun, but you have the most experience, and fortune, battling the Angels. Rei doesn't. If you die, then she's not going to fare any better than she already has."

"But if there's a chance that I could die, sending both of us out there won't make any difference."

"It'll be better that sending one out to die anyway." Misato said.

"Then if I die, at least I'll take that thing with me." Shinji argued.

"If it's gonna be a suicide mission, then why not send our least valuable pilot?" Ritsuko suggested.

Rei seemed to twitch at that.

"Because she's important to me, that's why!" Shinji stated with anger in his voice.

Rei looked over at Shinji and felt a warm surge go through her.

"Important to..." Misato started to say.

"Exactly what it means, Misato." Shinji said. "I'll pilot this mission alone, on my own, by myself, without anyone else, if I Have To. And I won't fail!"

"How can you be so sure?" Ritsuko asked.

"Because... I'm still alive."

The group looked a little stunned at this.

"Smart-ass!" Misato mumbled with a laugh.

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An hour later found Shinji and his Eva, posted in what was clearly the middle of the city, waiting for the Angel to arrive.

(I still don't like this, Shinji-kun.) Misato said from the command center.

"I don't like it either, Misato-chan. But like I told Rei, I can't be weak, and I won't let anyone else be lost if I can help it." he said.

(You really like her, don't you?)

"Yes, I do."

(I should have figured. So... does that mean you're going to fight for her now?)

Shinji looked at the monitor and smiled. "I made you a promise, Misato-chan. Rei is another strong reason for me to fight."

The purple-haired woman smiled at that.

(The Angel is descending!) Ritsuko suddenly shouted.

(SHINJI, MOVE OUT!) Misato shouted.

Shinji's mental activity pushed to the limit as he gunned the Eva down the stretch of street, using only his eyes to evaluate where the Angel was coming down.

He was not two miles in when he came to a rest on top of a large hill that overlooked the entire city. The Angel was nearly on top of him.

"RAISING AT-FIELD!" Shinji shouted as his Eva exploded with power.

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"Eva 01's AT-Field at maximum!" Maya Ibuki shouted.

"Angel is directly over Eva's position!" Makoto Hyuga shouted.

"Now its all up to Shinji and Unit 01." Misato said, holding her breath.

"Do you think Shinji can do this alone?" Ritsuko asked.

"If anyone can, it's him!"

Off to the side, Rei watched the screen intently.

_Please, Shinji-kun. You must win, so you can come back to me!_

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**WHAM**!

The Angel slammed hard into Unit 01's AT-Field, Shinji immediately felt himself buckling.

"Hold It Together, Shinji!" the boy groaned as he pushed the Eva's field to it's maximum.

The Eva's AT-Field had risen to where it was already strong enough to neutralize the Angels field. Shinji was now pushing on the Angel itself, and he was getting pushed down.

_I won't fail! I won't fail! I Won't FAIL_! He mentally screamed as he forced Unit 01 to push back as much as was possible. _FOR MISATO! FOR REI! FOR PENPEN! FOR EVERYONE IN TOKYO-3 AND THE WORLD!!!_

Eva's eyes suddenly glowed bright yellow, it's mouth opening wide to let loose deafening roar that was heard all throughout the city and into NERV.

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"MA'AM! I'm detecting another energy spike!" Maya shouted.

"From where? The Angel?" Misato asked.

"No! Eva 01!"

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Originally, both Eva 01 and the 10th Angel had emitted AT-Field's that effectively neutralized each others. But now, as if there was another player on the field, a new energy field took shape, surging out of the purple horned Eva and taking a strange shape around it. Almost like that of a cone-shaped pyramid. The energy field came to a point and exploded off the ground, shooting straight up through the single eye of the gigantic orange Angel, piercing it's core and extinguishing it's blue pattern in one shot.

And that one shot, resulted in a massive explosion for the surrounded areas.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

"Angel's blue pattern has vanished." Maya gasped.

"What about Shinji? Is he alright?" Misato quickly shot out.

"Visual coming up!" Makoto shouted.

On the screen, everyone breathed a sigh of relief as they saw Unit 01 standing in the middle of the decimated field.

(This is... Ikari... any... hear... I'm fine... need pick... would be nice) the static-filled voice of Shinji Ikari came over the line.

"We hear you loud and clear Shinji-kun!" Misato called back. "Sending crews now." she said as she motioned for Makoto to transmit the order.

"He did it... he really did it." Ritsuko said, stunned.

"Yeah. That's my Shinji-kun." Misato grinned.

"No." Rei said as she stepped up to the woman's side. "That is _our_ Shinji-kun." she corrected.

Misato for her part, just grinned and accepted that.

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Author's Notes:

Here it is, chapter 4, and Shinji and Rei have finally gotten together. And I know the battle with the Angel was a little short, but I hope everyone enjoyed it enough to make it seem worth the effort that Shinji quickly put an end to it.

Also, this was mostly a Shinji/Rei chapter as well as a little bit more drama of how he got to be who and what he is now.

Hopefully everyone will like this chapter enough to give me more reviews.

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Omake!

"So, you really want me to catch this thing?" Shinji asked.

"Yes." Misato said.

"And we've got something for you to use." Ritsuko stated.

The group walks down to the Eva cages.

"Oh, for crying out..." Shinji groaned.

"What? I think it's appropriate!" Ritsuko laughed.

"Appropriate? You want me to catch that Angel, with a giant Baseball Catchers Mitt?" he asked, looking at the giant mitt on his Eva's right hand.

"Well... if you've got a better idea?" Ritsuko asked.

Shinji paused for a minute.

"Do you have a helmet, vest, knee pads and foot padding?"

"As a matter of fact..."

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Omake 2!

"You said before that you should start with me. What did you mean by that?"

Shinji looked at Rei for a second, before slowly moving towards her and gently bringing his lips to her own.

"You're breath is tickling me." Rei said as she brought her hand up and pinched his nose before diving in to kiss the boy on the lips.

Needless to say, Shinji passed out from lack of oxygen after a full minute of this.


End file.
